Newsletter. The Psyche on Stage Constance Romero

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1 Newsletter August - December, 2010 A Semi-Annual Publication of the C. G. Jung Society of New Orleans Vol. 19, No. 2 The Psyche on Stage Constance Romero One of Jung s earliest and most prominent ideas about the psyche was that it was innately split into many personalities. Jung felt that we all have many selves, or complexes, that function like actors with their own ideas, beliefs, and feelings. Sometimes one holds sway, and at other times another does. The analyst Diane Braden has a wonderful metaphor for this: she imagines the psyche as multi-layered theater where the upper layers represent the personal unconscious and the lower stages represent the collective unconscious. This upper layer has one set of actors with whom we are somewhat familiar our persona and to some degree our shadow and the lower levels another, more powerful group of players, who represent the multiple figures or archetypes of the collective unconscious. Sometimes we operate in the more conscious upper layers and those identities hold sway in our psychological dealings. At other times, the older, more primitive archetypal energies take the stage. When this happens, we might say we are in the grip of a complex. Specifically, how can theater help raise consciousness? First, attending the theater offers a temenos, or sacred space, where we can view both the personal and group shadow, that is, those parts of ourselves and our culture that we see, do not like, and repress. This revelation of shadow dynamics is perhaps one of the theater s most valuable contributions to culture. Aristotle intuited this in the Poetics when he wrote that theater is important to a society because it reveals the tragic flaws of a character or group. These shadow elements usually have to do with hubris or false pride. Aristotle also points out that theater allows for the expression of deep emotions but in a safe, contained way. Through this cathartic process, we may keep some of our more destructive impulses in check. In Aristotle s observation of the human tendency to mimic or dramatize, he s acknowledging the inherently theatrical nature of the psyche. Jung, too, echoes this understanding when he likens the dream to a theatre in which the dreamer is himself the scene, the player, the prompter, the producer, the author, the public, and the critic. (CW 8, par. 509) Clearly, one of the ways we come to know ourselves is from the perspective of our community and by looking at our multiple selves. What does tragedy have to say to us today? Nietzsche, in his work, The Birth of Tragedy, poses that modern culture is doomed if it continues in its overly rational Socratic bias. He points out that the Socratic ideal, which imagines that all problems can be solved through a rational conscious orientation, has left us arid, godless, and dangerously unbalanced. He goes so far as to call Greek tragedy a salve for the modern psyche. Nietzsche believed tragedy could reinvigorate and rebalance modernity because it contained both the rational boundaried individuality of Apollo and the ecstatic communal release of Dionysus. Like Jung, who used the pair to describe introversion and extroversion, Nietzsche recognized that both Apollo and Dionysus were necessary to psychic equilibrium. He posed that the interplay between the chorus with its roots in Dionysian communal unity and the protagonist infused by the individuality of Apollo could help bring the psyche into balance. The theater, with its ancient roots in the Dionysian archetype of death and rebirth, is and has always been a vessel for psychological and spiritual transformation. In its essence, theatre is really another form of depth psychology, because it can take us down into our psychic roots and return us back to the world renewed. CONSTANCE ROMERO, LPC, LMFT, is a Jungian analyst in private practice in Mandeville. She is a graduate of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts and a faculty member of the New Orleans Jungian Seminar. She also has a professional background in theater arts both performing and directing. Her memoir, The Cane is Crying: Notes on Katrina, was published in Psychological Perspectives, Vol. 49, 2006.

2 C. G. Jung Society of New Orleans Fall 2010 Program Calendar The Red Book of C. G. Jung: A Panel Discussion Marilyn Marshall, ma, lpc, Charlotte Mathes, Ph.D., & Constance Romero, lpc, lmft Tuesday, September 14, :30 pm 2 CEUs C.G. Jung began writing in his Red Book around the time of his break with Freud in 1913 and wrote in it regularly until These years, Jung states, were the most important time in my life. Everything else is to be derived from this. My entire life consisted in elaborating what had burst forth from the unconscious and flooded me like an enigmatic stream and threatened to break me. Everything later was merely the outer classification, the scientific elaboration, and the integration into life. But the numinous beginning, which contained everything, was then. The Red Book, published for the first time last year, is a deeply personal and profoundly meaningful story of Jung s initial confrontation with the unconscious. A panel discussion by Jungian analysts Marilyn Marshall, Charlotte Mathes, and Connie Romero will present an overview of The Red Book its art, history, themes, and significance. Red Book Drawing A copy of The Red Book was recently donated to the Jung Society and will be given away at a drawing at the September 14 meeting. Purchase a chance to win for $15 (or two for $25) by mail by sending in the coupon on page 5, by downloading a coupon from our website at or at the door on Sept. 14. All proceeds go toward helping the Jung Society close its post-katrina budget gap and maintain its programming. You need not be present to win. A Priest, An Atheist, and Carl Jung Walk into a Bar Deldon Anne McNeely, Ph.D. Tuesday, October 5, :30 pm 2 CEUs Jung proposed that human nature is instinctively receptive to spirituality, sometimes referred to as a religious instinct. The failure of our materialistic age to support transpersonal principles resulted, thought Jung, in great suffering and frustrated longing for spirit. As militant atheism becomes increasingly vocal and popular, how does Jung s proposal stand today? Is there evidence of Jung s proposal, which Jung claimed was his empirical observation? Did he, as some think, give us the beginnings of a new myth or religion that is more meaningful for our time? This lecture will consider some perspectives on the possibility that we are, or are not, each subject to innate, spiritual motives. Deldon Anne McNeely received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Louisiana State University and is a member of the International Association for Analytical Psychology. A senior analyst of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts, she is a training analyst for their New Orleans Jungian Seminar. Publications include Touching: Body Therapy and Depth Psychology; Animus Aeternus: Exploring the Inner Masculine; Mercury Rising: Women, Evil, and the Trickster Gods; and a new book, Becoming: An Introduction to Jung s Concept of Individuation, being published this fall by Fisher King Press. The Kiss and the Longing of the Soul A Workshop with Marilyn Marshall, ma, lpc Saturday, October 9, am - 1 pm 3 CEUs $35 members; $45 nonmembers The prince kisses Sleeping Beauty and she awakens; Psyche seduces Eros with kisses to get her way; Vasalisa warns the prince not to kiss his sister, but he does and forgets Vasalisa; Gawain kisses the loathly lady and transforms her into a beautiful maiden; the Babylonian gods Ansar and Marduk kiss before battle and courage is born. Judas kisses in betrayal, Job in faithfulness, Mary Magdalene in love, and Jesus, in a Gnostic Gospel, explains the kiss as conception. As archetypal 2 Evening Programs Free To Members, $10 Nonmembers The Jung Society is a Pre-approved National Board of Certified Counselors CEU Provider Saturday Workshops By Admission Programs Held at Parker Methodist Church 1130 Nashville Avenue (at Perrier), New Orleans

3 images, these kisses of fairy tale and myth have a dynamic nature they move psychic energy backward to an old way of being or forward to a new adaptation. With your kisses, you too are being moved. Imbued with emotion, the numinous quality of the kiss translates, in modern language, as chemistry and speaks of the desire, the longing of the soul. In this workshop, we will explore the kiss and its meaning through fairy tale and myth and look at its modern image in literature, movies, dreams, and personal experience. A minimum of 6 participants is required to hold the workshop, so if you re planning to attend, please us at info@jungneworleans.org or send in the coupon on page 5 to reserve your spot. Marilyn Marshall is a Jungian analyst and licensed professional counselor in private practice in New Orleans. She is a 2009 diplomate of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. Her article, A Close-Up of the Kiss, was published in Cinema and Psyche, Spring Journal 77, Active Imagination: Engaging the Other Marilyn Marshall, ma, lpc Tuesday, November 2, :30 pm 2 CEUs Active imagination is the conscious engagement with the unconscious in dream images, fantasies, bodily sensations and emotional moods. In our September meeting, we ll have an opportunity to explore Jung s account of his active imaginations in The Red Book and discuss some of the profound effects of those experiences. In November s program, Marilyn will explore others experiences in the use of Jung s method of active imagination through the writing, painting, poetry, needlework, sculpture, and dialogue she has gathered from friends, colleagues, and analysands and, where possible, hear the effects of this conscious engagement of the unconscious. Marilyn Marshall is a Jungian analyst and licensed professional counselor in private practice in New Orleans. She is a 2009 diplomate of the Inter-Regional Society of Jungian Analysts. Her article, A Close-Up of the Kiss, was published in Cinema and Psyche, Spring Journal 77, Jung Society Christmas Party with Singer Mary Flynn Tuesday, December 7, :30 pm Join us for refreshments and entertainment by Irish singer Mary Flynn during our annual Christmas party on December 7 at Parker. Jung Film Night: The Phantom of the Opera Milton Vavasseur and Terence Todd, s.j. Tuesday, January 11, pm film screening 8:30 pm Discussion Jung wrote that the dream is a theatre in which the dreamer is himself the scene, the player, the prompter, the producer, the author, the public, and the critic. (CW 8, par. 509) Conversely, Jung Society members Milton Vavasseur and Terence Todd will view theater as dream in their discussion of the film The Phantom of the Opera. The discussion will examine the role of anima, ego, and Self in the film, consider the pull of conscious and unconscious impulses, and review the role that love and acceptance play in achieving wholeness. Milton Vavasseur has attended Jung Society meetings since 1997 and was a member of the board in He taught mathematics for 43 years in Texas, Louisiana, and New York and taught at Delgado Community College from 1991 till Terence Todd, S.J., has been a member of the Jung Society board since 2009 and has an avid interest in psychology. He has a degree in Industrial-Technical Education and taught Micronesian students the trades for 18 years at Ponape Agriculture & Trade School. Evening Programs Free To Members, $10 Nonmembers The Jung Society is a Pre-approved National Board of Certified Counselors CEU Provider Saturday Workshops By Admission Programs Held at Parker Methodist Church 1130 Nashville Avenue (at Perrier), New Orleans 3

4 Jung Around Town CONGRATULATIONS to Louisiana s newest Jungian analyst, Lafayette s Deedy Young, who graduated from the Inter- Regional Society of Jungian Analysts in June, She ll be joining us in April, 2011, to present the highlights from her thesis on the psychology of anger. Best wishes, Deedy! Dream Groups MANDEVILLE DREAM GROUP with analyst Connie Romero: This is an ongoing group that meets monthly on Sunday afternoons from 4-6. For more information, contact Connie Romero ( romeroce4@aol.com). NEW ORLEANS DREAM GROUP with analyst Marilyn Marshall: This new group for fall will meet from 7-9 pm on Friday nights beginning Oct. 8, with additional meetings scheduled for Nov. 19th, Dec. 3rd, and Jan. 7, Deadline for registration is Oct. 1. To enroll, contact Marilyn Marshall ( marilynjmarshall@gmail.com). Red Book Reading Groups Publication of The Red Book has opened up a new world of Jungian imagery to explore. We re focusing on The Red Book this fall, beginning with a panel discussion on September 14. We ll have a Red Book drawing for some lucky winner (see pages 2 and 5), and several analysts in the area are also beginning study groups to explore The Red Book in greater depth: IN NEW ORLEANS, analysts Karen Gibson and Marilyn Marshall will host a Red Book group as a fundraiser for the Jung Society to help us close our post-katrina budget gap. The first series of 4 sessions will begin on October 10 from 4-6 pm at 4917 S. Miro St., with subsequent meetings on Nov. 14, Dec. 5, and Jan. 16, Cost is $100 for the 4 sessions, and there is a minimum of 6 and a max of 12 participants. To register, contact Marilyn Marshall ( marilynjmarshall@gmail.com) prior to the September 30, 2010, deadline. IN BATON ROUGE, analyst Charlotte Mathes is offering a similar 4-session series on The Red Book beginning this fall. Cost of the 4-session series is $80, with a minimum of 6 people per group. Contact Charlotte Mathes ( mathes7@cox.net) to enroll. Jungian Reading Group Analyst Del McNeely s monthly Jungian reading group has completed Edward Edinger s Ego and Archetype and will be beginning a new book, to be chosen by the group, in the fall. Del s group meets monthly, usually on Monday from 12:30 pm 2:30 pm at Parker. The fee is whatever you can afford up to $20. To join the group, contact Del McNeely ( earthlovr@earthlink.net). Film Series UNDERSTANDING JUNG SERIES II: MOVIES THROUGH A JUNGIAN LENS Jung explains in Dream Analysis that theatre is a kind of psychotherapeutic institute where complexes are staged and that movies, which are less restricted than theatre, produce amazing symbols to show the collective unconscious. The second series of the Understanding Jung course will focus on Jung s ideas, concepts, and the individuation process as illustrated in movies. Participants are asked to view the film before the monthly Thursday night course and discussion. (It is not necessary to have attended the first series this past year.) The group will meet from 6:30 pm - 8 pm on Oct. 14, Nov. 11, and Dec. 9, 2010; and Jan. 13, Feb. 10, Mar. 10, Apr. 7, and May 12, Enrollment deadline is October 5. Cost for the eight-class course is $200, with a minimum of 6 and maximum of 12 participants. Films to be discussed include American Beauty, Equus, The Piano, The Queen, and Lars and the Real Girl. For information or to register, contact Marilyn Marshall ( marilynjmarshall@gmail.com). WHAT IS MENTAL ILLNESS? FILM SERIES The DSM-IV (or Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition) seeks to define our pathologies, but the boundaries are ever-shifting. What then do we and society itself convey when we talk about mental illness, pathologies, psychiatric clinics, or insane asylums? Analysts Jutta von Buchholtz and Charlotte Mathes will begin their film series exploring both the narrow and larger understanding of mental illness at 6:30 pm on November 18 at Parker. Charlotte Mathes ( mathes7@cox.net) will present their first film, The Soloist, which explores mental illness and the gifted, freedom of choice for those who are different, and difficulties in befriending the mentally ill. On December 16, Jutta von Buchholtz ( VonBuchholtz@aol.com) will show Awakenings, a factually based and powerfully persuasive film timed to coincide with the possible awakenings of the impending winter solstice. The film questions the value we place on normalcy as well as the profound effect an attentive human heart can have on patients who seem lost to our consciousness. Cost is $10 per film. For more information on each program, contact each speaker. 4

5 Board Of Directors Susan Welsh, President Karen Farley, Vice President Toni Newton, Secretary Susan Welsh, Treasurer Helen Barnett Beatriz Soco Ocampo Sharon Orgeron Duane Page Jennifer Standish Rosanne Tarantolo Terence Todd, SJ Honorary Members Judy Andry Susan Sewell Bell Joan Bicocchi Nancy Cater Gayonne Goodyear Blanche Gray Susan Logan Marilyn Marshall Bob Welch In Memoriam Ian Baker ( ) Battle Bell, III ( ) Stephanie Thibodeaux Braedt ( ) Eda Galtney ( ) Faye Geraci (2007) Andy Goodyear ( ) Joan & Travis Harrison (2007) Benefactors ($100 level) Allain and Judy Andry Helen Barnett Margaret Dozier Karen Farley Robert Hecker Charlotte Mathes Everett McLaren Anthony H. Oglesby Patti Spring Jennifer Standish Rosanne Tarantolo Susan Welsh Bollingen ($250 level) Roman A. Alvarez Karen Edmunds Blanche and Mat Gray Thomas Welsh Küsnacht ($500 level) Gary Braedt The Stephanie Thibodeaux Braedt Foundation Randy Fertel The Fertel Foundation New Orleans Jungian Seminar Analysts Jutta von Buchholtz, LPC, Ph.D. Baton Rouge & Birmingham Margaret F. Dozier, M.D. Loxley, Alabama Karen Gibson, LCSW, Ph.D. New Orleans Lucie Magnus, M.A., LPC, MFT Birmingham Marilyn Marshall, M.A., LPC New Orleans Charlotte Mathes, LCSW, Ph.D. Baton Rouge Everett McLaren, Ed.D. Richmond Deldon Anne McNeely, Ph.D. Abita Springs & Virginia Beach Connie Romero, LPC, LMFT Mandeville David E. Schoen, LCSW, MSSW Covington Jacqueline Wright, Ed.D. Atlanta Deedy Young, LCSW, MSW Lafayette WORKSHOP REGISTRATION / RED BOOK DRAWING Name Address City State Zip Phone Workshop Location: Parker Methodist Church 1130 Nashville Avenue New Orleans, Louisiana A Pre-Approved National Board of Certified Counselors CEU Provider Total Enclosed The Kiss and the Longing of the Soul Marilyn Marshall, MA, LPC, October 9, 2010 (Circle One: $35 members; $45 nonmembers) Membership In The C. G. Jung Society Of New Orleans Donor Levels (Circle One) Individual $ 50 Benefactor $100 Student $ 25 Bollingen $250 Clergy $ 25 Küsnacht $500 Join the Jung Society! Free admission to monthly programs and discounted admission to workshops throughout the year! Red Book Drawing September 14, 2010 To Register for the Drawing: Circle One: 1 chance for $15 2 chances for $25 Enclose your check payable to the C.G. Jung Society of New Orleans, along with this coupon, and send both to the address listed below. Questions? Mail completed form to: Contact the C. G. Jung Society: C. G. Jung Society of New Orleans info@jungneworleans.org 609 Metairie Road, #171 Website Metairie, LA

6 C. G. Jung Society of New Orleans Fall 2010 Program Calendar 9/14/10 The Red Book of C. G. Jung: A Panel Discussion Marilyn Marshall, MA, LPC, Charlotte Mathes, Ph.D., & Connie Romero, LPC, LMFT 7:30 pm 2 CEUs 10/5/10 A Priest, An Atheist, and Carl Jung Walk into a Bar Deldon Anne McNeely, Ph.D. 7:30 pm 2 CEUs 10/9/10 The Kiss and the Longing of the Soul A Workshop with Marilyn Marshall, MA, LPC 10 am - 1 pm 3 CEUs 11/2/10 Active Imagination: Engaging the Other Marilyn Marshall, MA, LPC 7:30 pm 2 CEUs 12/7/10 Jung Christmas Party with Singer Mary Flynn 7:30 pm 1/11/11 Jung Film Night: The Phantom of the Opera Milton Vavasseur & Terence Todd 6 pm - film Screening ; 8:30 pm - discussion PLUS: Film Series Study Groups; Red Book Study Groups; Jungian Reading Group & Dream Groups See page 4 for complete listing & locations Evening Programs Free To Members, $10 Nonmembers Saturday Workshop by Admission The Jung Society is a Pre-approved National Board of Certified Counselors CEU Provider All Programs Open to the Public & held at Parker Memorial United Methodist Church 1130 Nashville Avenue, New Orleans Website C. G. JUNG SOCIETY OF NEW ORLEANS 609 METAIRIE ROAD, #171 METAIRIE, LA ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED NONPROFIT ORG U.S. POSTAGE PAID New Orleans, LA Permit No. 2331

January - June, 2010 A Semi-Annual Publication of the C. G. Jung Society of New Orleans Vol. 19, No. 1

Newsletter January - June, 2010 A Semi-Annual Publication of the C. G. Jung Society of New Orleans Vol. 19, No. 1 Jung Around Town: What s Going On In The Crescent City DREAMWORK, NEW ORLEANS AND MANDEVILLE